Screwed Up
by GreatSnapper
Summary: Kuroko never doubted that her Onee-sama would come to her rescue. She just never imagined that there would come a time when that knowledge frightened her. Sometimes, knowing just how far someone is willing to go to help is worse than needing them in the first place, and Kuroko is about to learn that Mikoto may not be as sane as everyone thinks.
1. A Little Twist

A/N: You might not like this.

* * *

Kuroko was scared. Being level four, and a teleporter to boot, it wasn't often she found herself in a situation she couldn't handle. She had been trained in hand to hand combat as part of her Judgment training, and had a near genius level intellect on top of that. Her size worked to her advantage in most of her physical confrontations, and if things got to be too much, her ability had never failed her. She was efficient, skilled, and powerful. With her vast arsenal of skills, she was fully confident in her ability to take down even the most dangerous of opponents.

Perhaps that overconfidence was what had led her to her current predicament.

"Come on, bitch. Where did all that spunk from before go? You were so eager to take me in, weren't you?" A rough hand grabbed one of her pigtails before a fist collided with her stomach, and Kuroko gagged, the wind knocked from her lungs. "I thought a teleporter would be more of a challenge than this, fuck."

Kuroko didn't answer. She looked up at her attacker through hazy eyes, trying to remember exactly what had led her to this situation.

There had been a rash of muggings in the area, seemingly at random. The case was perplexing not only because of the random nature of the attacks, but also due to the fact that in some instances nothing had even been stolen. This raised a chilling possibility. Greed as a motive was something Kuroko could understand, even if she found it reprehensible. But it seemed like whoever was doing this had no motive other than hurting people. It made Kuroko sick, and she was determined to track them down.

When she'd received a tip about an assault in progress, she'd raced off, abandoning her usual caution in favor of getting to the scene as quickly as possible. She had arrived to find a young women, beaten and bloody, unconscious in an alley, but with no sign of her attacker.

She had been calling for an ambulance when something collided with the back of her skull, knocking her to the ground. In retrospect, she really should have known better than to run off like that. Uiharu had tried to urge her to wait, but she had rushed off before her friend could say any more. It was reckless and foolhardy. Perhaps Onee-sama was starting to rub off on her.

Her train of thought was broken as a fist slammed into her face, knocking her back against the concrete wall behind her. Her head connected with a crack, and she saw stars. A hand clasped around her chin before she could fall, pushing her against the wall and forcing her to look at her attacker.

"I have to say, you got here a lot faster than I'd been expecting. Guess teleport is a pretty handy ability." An elbow collided with her temple and the world exploded in light. "Doesn't seem to be doing you a whole lot of good now though. Wonder why that is?"

Kuroko staggered, trying to force the pain from her thoughts. Another blow struck her in the chest, and she gasped. He wasn't letting up long enough for her to regain her focus.

"W-why are you doing this?" She spat blood out and ducked another blow only to catch a knee to the stomach. "You… you're assaulting a Judgment officer. Do you.. understand what that means?"

"Well, yeah. Who did you think made that call?" He chuckled, and Kuroko's eyes widened in realization.

_Of course! How could I be so stupid?_

"You Judgment types really get me. I don't know why you bother going around acting all high and mighty. None of you are worth shit." He backhanded her across the face, and Kuroko stumbled to the ground.

_I know he got the drop on me, but still… what's going on?_

Kuroko was no stranger to the pain brought on by physical violence. She had trained extensively in hand to hand combat, and had been in her share of fights since joining Judgement. Her skill and ability were usually enough to settle disputes without injury, but she had taken enough blows to know what it felt like to be struck, even by someone much stronger than herself. But something about this man's attacks sent her reeling in a way she had never experienced before. Every blow seemed to hit with the force of a truck. Was he just that strong, or was he an esper?

Some of her confusion must have shown on her face, because the man paused in his assault, reaching down and grabbing her by the pigtails. Kuroko winced, biting back a scream as he pulled her up by her hair and shoved her against the wall. "Looks like you're starting to figure it out a bit. Your teleport may be fancy, but I have an ability of my own."

His free hand curled into a fist and collided with Kuroko's stomach with enough force to crack ribs, and she opened her mouth in a silent scream.

"I like to call it "Full Impact". No matter how I hit my opponent, no matter how awkward the stance or glancing the blow, my full weight goes into it. Every punch is a haymaker with my ability. It's rather good for this kind of thing, don't you think?"

He pulled her forward before slamming her back into the wall hard enough to make her vision darken momentarily, before letting go of her chin and letting her slide down the wall. She was too dazed to even try to teleport now.

_I… I don't know how much more of this I can take. _

His lips curled in a sadistic grin. "Well, it's been fun, little Judgment girl. But I think we're done here. Maybe if you wake up we can go again sometime."

Kuroko squeezed her eyes shut, her whole body shaking as she waited for the end.

"Oi."

The expected blow never came. Tentatively, Kuroko opened her eyes. The man was no longer looking at her. Instead, his attention was focused on the far end of the alley. Kuroko could barely make out the shape of another person, their gait casual and easy, walking towards them. "The fuck do you want? We're a little busy here, if you didn't notice."

"Sorry. I just couldn't help but notice that's my kohai you're beating on." Kuroko's eyes widened as the figure walked close enough for her to make out her features through the haze of tears and blood that obscured her vision.

"Onee-sama!" Relief washed over her.

Mikoto turned to offer her a crooked smile. "Hey, Kuroko. Rough day at work?"

Kuroko opened her mouth to respond, but the man buried his foot in her stomach, and she gasped in pain.

"Oh, she's a friend of yours then? Well I'd hate to interfere with someone trying to play hero, but I am going to have to assume that means you're alright with me beating on you a bit too."

"Ah?" Mikoto's grin twisted, becoming predatory, and Kuroko shivered. She had only seen that look on her Onee-sama's face a few times, and the results were never pretty. "I'm sure you must be joking. You see, I'm the one who's going to be doing the beating here."

Static energy began to build in the alley, and the man turned his full attention to Mikoto. Kuroko coughed, blood splattering against the ground as she tried to speak. "W-wait… Onee-sama…"

"Shut up, Kuroko." Mikoto's eyes were glued to the blood on the ground. The smile was still fixed on her face, and Kuroko could see something dangerous dancing behind her eyes. "I don't take kindly to people trying to hurt my friends. When they actually succeed, well. I'm afraid I'm going to have to do something nasty."

Cold tendrils of dread coiled around Kuroko's heart. As relieved as she was to have been rescued, things looked like they were going to get out of hand. She turned back to her attacker. He was staring at Mikoto with something akin to fascination on his face. He had no idea what was about to happen.

"Well, I usually prefer to get the drop on my opponents." He cracked his knuckles. "But I suppose there's nothing wrong with doing it this way every now and then.

Mikoto stopped walking, leaving several paces between herself and her opponent. "You didn't grow up in Academy City, did you?"

Confusion flashed over the man's features for a second before they twisted in annoyance. "So you're some kind of mindreader then? So what if I didn't? What does it matter?"

Kuroko's heart thundered in her chest as Mikoto chuckled. "Hey now, no need to get so upset. I was just gonna tell you something interesting." She took another step forward, and the man frowned. "I'm not actually a mind reader. I'll tell you how I know you didn't grow up here though, even though you have an ability and everything."

The man's expression turned to one of confusion. "What the hell are you rambling about?"

A bolt of lightning cracked from Mikoto's bangs, and the man's mouth snapped shut. Kuroko could see the tightening around his eyes and the tension building in his frame.

"Don't interrupt. Anyway, as I'm sure you know, Academy City is decades beyond most of the rest of the world when it comes to technology. Seriously, I went on a trip with my mom about a year ago to Paris? It's a shithole compared to this place. But yeah, so we're leagues ahead here, and that includes just about everything you can think of. Communications, robotics, artificial intelligence, transportation, education, you name it. Oh, and medicine too of course."

The man gave a sudden grunt, falling to one knee. "Wha… what the fuck?" Kuroko watched as he clutched at his knee, rivulets of sweat running down his face. "You… you bitch. What are you doing?"

Mikoto continued, her voice casual. "Now, I'm guessing you broke that leg when you were younger, maybe around twelve? Before you came here, anyway." Electricity coiled angrily around Mikoto's body, but she paid it no mind.

Kuroko was having trouble following the conversation. Just what was Mikoto talking about? Whatever it was, the man seemed to get it, because his eyes widened and the color drained from his face. "You… nngh! No way… you fucking bitch! I'll kill you!"

"Aaah, yeah. I don't get it myself, really. If you'd broken your leg here, they'd patch you up no problem." Mikoto raised her hand towards the man, palm up. "I mean, come on. Who still uses metal pins to hold broken bones together?"

Kuroko's eyes widened as realization hit her. She opened her mouth to say something, but her words were drowned out by an anguished scream. Beside her, the man that less than five minutes ago had seemed intent on beating her to within an inch of her life was rolling on the ground clutching his leg, his eyes wide with panic.

"Stop!" He screamed. "For God's sake, stop! You're going to rip it out!"

"Yeah, that's kind of the plan here."

His pleas turned unintelligible at that point. Kuroko felt something inside of her twist. He had tricked her, and then beaten her bloody. A small part of her enjoyed the sight of the man in pain, but a larger part of her was growing increasingly nauseous. She needed to do something, anything, to stop this. But before she could say anything, before she could plead with Mikoto to stop, there was a sickening crunch and something small shot into the electromaster's waiting hand. The man's screams reached a crescendo before fading into sobs. Blood seeped through his fingers, which were still wrapped tightly around his leg. On the ground, Kuroko thought she saw a shard of bone, and her stomach turned over. It took everything she had not to throw up.

"Huh, you know this thing is smaller than I thought it would be." Mikoto was holding the small screw up to the light, inspecting it with a look of almost bored interest on her face. "I never knew people were being literal when they called them screws. Weird." She tossed it over her shoulder and an arc of electricity leapt from her body, striking the screw and guiding it into gentle orbit around the electromaster.

By this point, the man wasn't even paying her any attention. He was crawling as best he could in the opposite direction. Tears stained his cheeks, and sweat was pouring from his body. Kuroko felt numb, forgetting even her own pain. She'd never seen such an open display of brutality, least of all from her Onee-sama, and it terrified her.

"Woah, hey. Where do you think you're going?"

A terrified moan escaped the crawling man's lips, and he turned to look at the smiling Mikoto with horror in his eyes. She gestured casually with her hand, and another screw was ripped from his leg. His screaming bounced off the concrete walls, and Kuroko whimpered.

"You've still got what, five left in there? You owe Kuroko a little restitution after what you did to her." Mikoto began to walk towards the man's prone form with slow, deliberate steps. "I think seven little screws is certainly a reasonable thing to request. It's not even like we're asking you for money. You've just had these sitting around forever, right? All I need to do is get them out." She dug a foot into his side, causing him to gasp for air. "And I'm more than happy to help with that."

Kuroko didn't know how much more of this she could take. "O-Onee-sama. Please, he's suffered enough. Just… just let me arrest him and that will be the end of it. I'll be fine, really."

Mikoto turned towards Kuroko with thunder in her eyes. "Maybe you didn't hear me, Kuroko, so I guess I'll repeat myself." She brought her heel down on the man's ruined knee, and he shrieked. "Seven. Screws. That's the payment for hurting my friend, and I'm not leaving until I get them."

Kuroko's courage dried up in that moment. This was a side of her Onee-sama she had never seen before, and it was terrifying. It occurred to her that in their everyday life together, she had completely forgotten just what Misaka Mikoto was. She was the level five Railgun, the most powerful electromaster in Academy City, and when she wanted something, she had the power to take it. No matter what stood in her way.

"P-p-please," the man croaked. "I...I'm begging you… I can't take any m-more."

For a moment, Mikoto seemed to consider his request. "This is dragging on, isn't it? Maybe I should let you off. Ah, but I did just yell at Kuroko a bit. I'd feel bad if I went back on my word now." She snapped her fingers with a smile, as if something had just occurred to her. "I know! I'll just take the last five all at once!"

"N-No! Please!" The man scrambled to get away, but Mikoto was having none of it. Her hand curled into a claw and lightning danced between her fingers and his leg.

"Alright! And in three, two, one…!"

The sound was terrible. Kuroko could hear the crunching bones and the twisting flesh even over the hideous screams the man was making. It filled her head and echoed inside her skull until Kuroko was sure it would drive her mad.

"And we're done! Just like pulling a tooth, right?"

All at once the sound stopped. Even the screams seemed to have died away. Kuroko glanced through tear-stained eyes at the man. He was still screaming, but only a faint, raspy noise escaped him. He had strained his voice. Blood pooled beneath him, his leg shredded to tatters at the knee. She could see the bits of bone poking through the flesh, and this time Kuroko really did lose her lunch. She heaved and heaved until she was empty, and then heaved some more.

When she finally managed to regain control of herself, Kuroko turned to look at Mikoto. Blood dripped from the seven floating screws onto her outstretched hand. She didn't seem to notice, too busy staring at the man that was now just barely conscious.

"O-Onee-sama?"

Mikoto blinked, and the trance was broken. She favored Kuroko with a fond look that clashed horribly with the blood dripping from her fingers. "Hey, Kuroko. These are yours." With a casual toss, the screws landed on the ground in front of Kuroko. She scrambled away from them, feeling like she wanted to be sick again. Mikoto chuckled, and Kuroko looked back up to see her rolling the one remaining screw between her fingers.

"Hey, you know what might be a good idea?"

"Wha… what's that, Onee-sama." Kuroko's voice was barely a squeak, but Mikoto didn't seem to care.

Mikoto turned back to regard the prone man, bloody and broken on the ground. Slowly, she raised her hand towards him, pressing her thumb gently against the head of the screw. Electricity surged around her arm, and her face split in a mad grin.

"We should show him how I got my nickname."

Kuroko's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to scream, joining the shriek of lightning. With a flick of Mikoto's thumb the screw exploded forward, and the world was bathed in white.

* * *

A/N: Well. I hope you all had as much fun as I did.

This is something I wanted to write, and is probably the most "fanficcy" thing I've ever written, at least for the Raildex universe. In that sense, I had a good time with it. There's not a lot here other than my interpretation of an aspect of Mikoto's personality driven to an extreme without much reason for it other than I felt like it and wanted to see what it would look like. It was honestly just going to be for me, but there are other people out there that it might appeal to, so I share it. Note that you yourself may _not _be one of those people, and you might have found this immensely distasteful. That's fine. It's not for everyone, by which I mean I certainly did not write it for the people who wouldn't want to read it. Sounds silly to say, but there you go.

I am certainly interested in hearing any opinions, whether they be about the subject matter, the writing itself, or anything else. So if you had a reaction, please tell me what it was. I'm genuinely interested.

This piece is remarkably self-indulgent, almost to the point of qualifying as self-gratification. That is, in some ways, the point of fanfiction, insomuch as there is one. So this is an experiment, and ultimately something I did for fun and enjoyment. Whether or not that's a good thing is up for debate, but it is certainly a _thing _which means there is some value inherent to it.

Well, read and review at your discretion. Cheers.


	2. Your Fault

A/N: You brought this on yourselves.

* * *

Kuroko stared blankly at her computer screen, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. She'd been trying to read the same page of this report now for nearly twenty minutes, her eyes scrolling listlessly over the words without processing any of them. Her brain was practically shut down, unable to even muster the energy required to filter through the mindless Judgment paperwork she'd done hundreds of times before.

"Are you alright, Shirai-san?"

With a sudden rush of adrenaline, Kuroko's head snapped around. She was greeted by the concerned face of her sempai. "Ah, Konori-sempai. Yes, sorry. I'm fine. Just a little tired, I suppose."

Konori's lips turned downward in a small frown, and Kuroko braced herself. She knew what was coming next. "Shirai-san… look, I know we've had this discussion before, but really, you don't have to be here right now. You're still recovering. Won't you please take some time off from Judgment? Or at the very least stop staying so late every night?"

Outside, the streetlights turned on as the last of the afternoon light disappeared behind the rooftops. Kuroko did her best to smile at Konori. "I appreciate the concern, Konori-sempai, really, but I'm fine. I just want to work a little harder to get back into the thick of it. I do not wish to be idle."

Konori's eyes traced over her body, lingering on every bruise and bandage. Even after a week her bruises had failed to fully heal, and her broken ribs would take significantly longer to mend, even with access to Academy City's stellar medical facilities. But Kuroko wasn't worried about her injuries. It was something else that plagued her thoughts of late. Or rather, someone.

The silence between them dragged on, and Konori shifted, biting her lip. Kuroko tensed. It was unusual to see Konori uncomfortable or unsure, and it made Kuroko's insides twist in guilt. "Look, Shirai-san. I… I don't know what happened out there, not really. All I have to go on is what you told me, but I'm not stupid. I know you're leaving something out. It's not like you to keep secrets. Normally I would insist on you telling me, since you were injured in the line of duty, but I'm willing to let it pass if you really don't want to talk about it. I just want you to know that if you do want to talk, I'm here. I may be your superior in Judgment, but I'm your friend as well. Please don't forget that."

For a moment, Kuroko was sorely tempted to speak, to tell her everything. As proud as she was, she had still always looked up to Konori. She was a perfect example of everything a capable Judgment officer should be, and even when Kuroko disagreed with her she still held her in high esteem. The corner of her mouth twitched, but before she could speak, she forced the urge down and silence herself with a smile.

"Thank you, Konori-sempai. That's very kind, and I promise I won't forget. I just… I need to deal with this on my own." Her smile grew slightly more genuine. "I promise. I just need some time to work this out."

Konori's gaze lingered on her for a moment longer, before she shook her head with a soft smile. "Alright, Shirai-san, if you insist. I trust your judgment. I'll leave the 177th branch in your capable hands for the evening. But don't stay here too long; I don't want you getting in trouble with your dorm supervisor, alright?"

"Of course." The thought of the dorm mistress was usually enough to send a shiver down Kuroko's spine, but tonight she didn't even give the woman a second thought. "I'll just finish this up and head home. Take care, Konori-sempai."

The pair exchanged few more parting words, and Konori took her leave, shutting the door behind her and leaving Koroko alone. It would be curfew soon, but Kuroko wasn't too worried about that. With her ability, it was rather easy to sneak home. She checked the time. Onee-sama wasn't likely to be in bed for another hour yet. With a sigh, she turned back to her computer and tried to focus on the report.

Despite her best efforts though, it was impossible. The silence was heavy, weighing on her. Without the comforting presence of her sempai, Kuroko was forced to confront the thoughts that had been playing over and over through her head for the past six days.

_For God's sake, stop! You're going to rip it out!"_

_Yeah, that's kind of the plan here._

Kuroko shivered, rubbing her arms as goosebumps erupted along her skin. How? Just how could her sweet, gentle Onee-sama be capable of something like that? She hadn't even sounded angry. But then Kuroko remembered her eyes, remembered the cold fury she had seen glowing behind them. She had seen Mikoto get angry before. She had even seen her get mad when one of her friends was hurt or threatened. But it was always a righteous anger, born of concern for her friends and the desire to do what was right. This… this had been different. There had been something dark and malicious about her.

She hadn't simply wanted to save Kuroko; she had wanted to make the one responsible for her injuries suffer.

It was a miracle the man was even alive. When Mikoto had fired her railgun at him, Kuroko had been sure the man was dead. Besides Mikoto herself, Kuroko knew better than anyone just how much damage that attack could do. To take one at that range with nothing to protect you? There would be nothing left. But when the smoke had cleared, the man had still been there, sprawled next to a sizable crater. Kuroko had rushed to check on him, so frightened by the prospect that her Onee-sama had actually killed someone that she didn't even notice the pain caused by her own injuries.

She had been relieved to find a pulse. He would live. However, the memory of his mangled legs was enough to temper any solace she might have taken in that knowledge. He may have survived, but even now he had yet to regain consciousness, and he would never walk again.

"What happened, Onee-sama? How could you do something like that?"

That question had been running around in Kuroko's head for days. She had yet to find an answer, and the thought of actually broaching the subject with Mikoto was almost too frightening to consider. It shamed her to admit it, but despite how she felt about Mikoto, she was scared. She had seen a part of her that she had never even thought existed, and it was terrifying.

Anti-Skill had arrived not long after, during which time Mikoto hadn't said a word and Kuroko hadn't dared speak to her. It was actually rather fortunate the man's legs had been destroyed; it made it impossible to tell what Mikoto had done just before. Kuroko had barely been able to pass off the man's injuries as self-defense, claiming Mikoto hadn't had time to do anything other than try to disable him. If they'd known she had practically tortured him prior to crippling him with her railgun, Kuroko doubted she would would have gotten away with just a reprimand about "excessive use of force".

Kuroko pulled up another file, one she had been looking at on and off for the last several days. Fukui Neji. Level three esper with the ability "Full Impact". Apparently he had been arrested once before on assault charges and served time in a juvenile detention center. At the time, he had only been level two, so he had not been forced into special isolation. Kuroko stared at his picture, remembering the gleeful expression he had worn while driving his fist into her stomach. He looked much younger in the picture they had on file, but seeing him still made Kuroko's insides twist.

They had been able to tie at least a dozen more assaults to him since he had been apprehended. It seemed he had been the one responsible for the rash of muggings in the area, something which had not come as much of a surprise to Kuroko. The man was vicious.

She had spent quite a bit of time on that case, searching for the one responsible for the attacks. She had seen the photos of his other victims. Some of them were likely never to fully recover. The familiar anger burned in her stomach as she stared at his picture on the screen. Really, this was a good thing. He would never be hurting anyone ever again. That had to be worth it.

Right?

Kuroko shook her head, trying to fight back the approaching tears. She had gone over it in her head dozens of times, but she just couldn't convince herself that what Mikoto had done had been necessary. Kuroko knew her abilities well; there were any number of ways she could have disabled him without hurting him, or at the very least without doing… that. It made her heart sick to realize that her beloved Onee-sama was capable of such brutality.

Even more than that though, even more than seeing the damage Mikoto could really cause if she wanted to, was the realization that there was something dark living inside of her, something monstrous. As much as Kuroko wanted to deny it, she had seen the expression on her Onee-sama's face as she pulled the screws from Fukui's leg. She had been smiling. Whether she realized it or not, Mikoto had, at least on some level, enjoyed doing that to him, and that knowledge broke Kuroko's heart.

Her phone buzzed and for a moment she felt a surge of panic. Was it Onee-sama? She hesitated, staring at the offending device before reaching out with a shaking hand and flipping it open. She let out a breath. It was just the curfew alert. She had forgotten she'd even set one. Well, it was probably best she headed home then. Hopefully by the time she got back, Mikoto would already be asleep.

She shut down the computers and turned off the lights before locking the door and vanishing from the room, reappearing on the roof. The cool evening air felt good against her skin, and she spent a moment staring at the dark blue sky. Sooner or later, she was going to have to face Onee-sama. She was going to have to find out just what had been going through her mind when she had crippled that man. And… she was going to have to thank her too, because whatever else she might have done, she had still saved her, and she had yet to thank her for that.

_I just want things to go back to how they were before._

With a heavy heart, Kuroko disappeared into the night.

* * *

"Konomi-chan!"

A young girl with blonde ringlets turned from the girl she was talking to towards the approaching electromaster, a small smile on her face. She gave a wave. "Hi, Mikoto-chan."

"Look, look! I finally figured it out!"

Konomi exchanged a look with the girl next to her, a young brunette that eyed Mikoto warily.

"Figured what out, Mikoto-chan?"

Mikoto smiled. "Just wait! I'll show you something cool!"

Mikoto stomped her foot on the ground, her forehead scrunched in concentration as sparks danced off her small body. She could feel it just beneath the ground, tiny grains of iron just waiting for her to grasp them with her power. She reached out for them, wrapping them in her magnetic field and pulling them up through the ground.

"I can use my magnetism to gather the iron sand together now!"

The brunette seemed unimpressed, but Konomi clapped in delight. "That's wonderful, Mikoto-chan! I knew you'd be able to do it." Her expression fell slightly. "I want to be able to do it too, but I'm just a level three. I can't compete with you, Mikoto-chan."

"Hey, hey, cheer up! I know if you keep working hard, you'll catch up to me in no time." Mikoto gave her a thumbs up, beaming. "Here, let me show you something else!"

The iron sand slowly began to dance around her, and Mikoto's smile grew. She could feel her power rushing through her veins, spilling out of her into the sand. It was amazing.

Faster and faster the sand whipped around her, and Mikoto was oblivious to the way the smile slipped from Konomi's face and she took a tentative step back. With a wave of her hand, the sand rushed out, circling around her and humming with energy.

"Wah! Wait, Mikoto-chan!" Konomi and her friend stumbled backwards as the iron sand cut through the air, passing within inches of them and carving a groove in the earth. Mikoto didn't even hear her, too enraptured with the feeling of her ability. With another twist of her hand she sent the sand spiralling upwards, giggling as it rushed to obey her. Then she brought both hands down, sending the mass of magnetized metal particles rushing earthward.

"Mikoto-chan!"

Mikoto blinked, the scream bringing her back to reality as the sand rushed towards the cowering forms of Konomi and her friend. Her eyes widened in shock and as quickly as she could she moved to divert the metal away. She managed to spare them the brunt of the blow, but some of the sand still scraped against Konomi's arm. She screamed and fell to the ground, clutching her arm. Red seeped between her fingers as she whimpered, and Mikoto relinquished her control over the sand.

"Konomi-chan!" Mikoto rushed towards her fallen friend, only to be pushed to the ground by the brunette. She blinked up at the girl in surprise, meeting her furious eyes. "Wha-?"

"You… you stay away from Konomi-chan!" She pointed an accusing finger at Mikoto, who was too dumbstruck to even pick herself up off the ground. "This is all your fault! Why can't you just keep your freaky powers to yourself?"

"H-Haruka-chan," Konomi whimpered, tugging at the girls skirt.

"Ah, Konomi-chan!" Haruka knelt to help Konomi to her feet, still glaring at a speechless Mikoto.

"I...I'm sorry, Konomi-chan!" Mikoto reached out to her friend, but Konomi flinched away, ducking behind Haruka. Mikoto felt a lump forming in her throat as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "I-I didn't mean it… I just wanted t-to show you…"

"Just keep it to yourself next time!" Haruka's face was red with anger. "Why are you even here anyway? I'm sure they have a special school for freaks like you somewhere else!"

"K-Konomi-chan?"

Konomi was silent, retreating further behind Haruka and refusing to meet Mikoto's eyes.

Mikoto could hold her tears back no longer. She stumbled to her feet, wiping at her eyes, before turning and running as fast as her legs could carry her.

She fled the school grounds, ignoring the shouting of the teacher she passed and running as far and as fast as she could, trying to fight back the sobs that racked her young body.

_I didn't mean to hurt her! It was an accident!_

Eventually, she found herself in a familiar park. It was empty at this time of day; most kids were still in school, and so she was alone as she took a seat on her favorite swing and began rocking back and forth, trying her best to stop crying. She wasn't supposed to cry anymore. But as much as she tried to forget them, Haruka's harsh words kept coming back to her. Mikoto clutched at her head as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"I-I'm not a freak. I'm not. I'm not!"

She was interrupted by a soft mewling near her feet. Blinking away her tears and looking down, Mikoto noticed a tiny white cat, and a small smile formed on her lips.

"Ah… Shiro-chan." She had found Shiro-chan as a kitten months ago, abandoned, and had secretly been raising him in the park ever since. He had always been able to cheer her up when she'd been feeling down.

"You don't think I'm a freak, right, Shiro-chan? You're still my friend, even if Konomi-chan is scared of me.'" She reached out to scratch him behind his ears, something that never failed to get the young cat purring, and he cringed away from her. His ears flattened against his head as he trembled, and Mikoto's eyes widened in shock.

"No… Shiro-chan not you too! I'm your friend!" She scrambled out of the swing and onto the ground. Shiro backed away, fur standing on end as she approached. "Remember, Shiro-chan?" Tears fell freely from her her eyes as she attempted to close the distance between them. "Remember when I pulled you out of the drain? I took you home and hid you in my room. I fed you milk, and you curled up in bed with me."

She crawled on her hands and knees towards the frightened cat, but it didn't respond to her pleas. "Shiro-chan…" She reached out a hand towards him, and he hissed, lashing out with his claws.

"Ah!" Mikoto pulled her hand away, looking in shock at the angry red lines on the back of her hand. Droplets of blood began to seep from the wound, and she dropped her hands to her sides.

"I… I think I get it, Shiro-chan." She wiped her tears from her eyes and put on her best smile. "I'm getting stronger all the time. I can feel it building inside me, and it wants to get out. You… you can feel it too, right? That's why you're scared? I'm sorry I didn't realize it before, Shiro-chan."

Sparks began to dance off of her, and Shiro backed away. Before he could flee, Mikoto snatched him in her hands, ignoring his struggles and the fresh grooves his tiny claws drew in her flesh. Her smile was fixed, and she stared intently at the struggling creature.

"I know, it's not your fault. You're just not used to it yet. That's why, I'm going to help you. We'll be friends again in no time, Shiro-chan."

* * *

The midday sun beat down from above, not a cloud in the sky to hinder its radiance. It was one of those perfect summer days that adults and children alike bemoan having to stay indoors for. With only clear skies and warm weather on the forecast, it was the perfect day to spend lounging on a park bench with a cool beverage, simply watching the birds and enjoying one's youth.

Too bad Mikoto wasn't much in the mood to enjoy anything at the moment.

She crushed her empty soda can, tossing it over her shoulder with a sigh. It had been a long time since she'd skipped classes like this. As the Ace of Tokiwadai, she was expected to set an example. She wasn't stupid, she knew that many of the other students looked up to her, or at the very least admired the fact that she was level five. It was something they all strove for, even if they knew how unlikely it was any of them would ever actually achieve it.

But she'd just been in no mood to deal with anyone today. She dug her nail into the soft wood of the bench, tracing a crescent groove. The only person she _really _wanted to talk to had been avoiding her for the better part of the week.

Another sigh. She leaned her head back and stared at the sky. "Just what do you want from me, Kuroko?"

The teleporter's normally boisterous attitude had been rather more subdued lately. At first, Mikoto had chalked it up to her having received some rather serious injuries. Kuroko was normally so capable; it was understandable if she was a little shaken up. She may have been one of the most resilient people Mikoto knew, but she still wasn't used to losing, especially not like that. To have been so completely defeated must have been weighing heavily on her mind.

But then, every time Mikoto tried to approach her, Kuroko had made some kind of excuse. Mikoto didn't believe for a second that she'd been as busy with Judgment as she claimed. Konori-sempai wasn't the kind of person that would force an injured subordinate to work such long hours. She'd been working more than she had even before the incident. No, it was something else, and it wasn't until a couple of days ago that Mikoto had begun to suspect Kuroko might be avoiding her.

Her eyes tracked an airplane as it flew high overhead. It left a faint contrail behind it, and Mikoto watched as it slowly disappeared. She knew what it was that was bothering Kuroko. The expression on her face when she had taught that worthless piece of scum the price of messing with her friends wasn't something she was likely to forget anytime soon.

_Maybe… Was that too much for her?_

Mikoto hung her head, staring down at her feet. It wasn't supposed to be like this though. Kuroko was a member of Judgment. She of all people should have known that there were some people out there that would only cause pain if they were allowed to run free. She had just been teaching him a lesson, and making sure that he would never be able to do what he did to Kuroko… what he had been _about _to do to her, to anyone else ever again.

Wasn't that a good thing?

He had hurt Kuroko so badly. Mikoto had never seen her precious friend in such a miserable state before, and something inside of her had snapped at the sight. She knew then that she would not let the one that did that to her get away with it. The satisfaction she had felt when she saw the terror in his eyes, the sheer delight when she had ripped the screws from his bones… it was like nothing she had ever felt before. She knew then it was the right thing to do. There hadn't been a doubt in her mind. But now… she wasn't so sure.

She wanted, _needed_ to talk to Kuroko about this, but the teleporter was staying out until after she had gone to bed and leaving before she woke up. Some nights, Mikoto wasn't even sure she came home at all. Just what had been so awful about what she'd done that Kuroko wasn't even willing to talk to her about it?

A chilling thought hit her then. _Am I going to be abandoned again?_ The thought was enough to still her breath, but she forced it away before she could dwell on it. Kuroko would never do that to her. No matter what, Kuroko had said she would stay by her side.

But… if that was true, then where was she now?

Emotion flooded through her, and she clutched her head in her hands. It was starting all over again, that terrible cycle she'd been a part of ever since she first started to develop her ability. The stronger she got, the more people would flee from her presence. She had thought that once she achieved level five, people wouldn't run away anymore. People knew what level five meant. They already knew she stood at the top, so there was no reason to run.

But here she was, alone again, trying to think of what she could do to keep from losing her friends.

Something moved in the corner of her vision, and she looked up to see a small black cat. She blinked, before recognition hit.

"Ah, you're the cat from that time…"

It mewled, staring up at her with bright yellow eyes. Mikoto had always loved cats, but it had been such a long time since she'd actually been able to really pet one. But this one had been around her before. It had been around her sisters before as well, and it had even been on the bridge when she'd unleashed her power in a massive burst of lightning and magnetism.

Maybe this one wouldn't run away?

Tentatively, she reached out to it. Slowly, it began to walk towards her, and Mikoto smiled. "It's alright. Look, I'm not that scary."

It continued its cautious approach until it was a few scant inches away. Mikoto's heart was in her throat. "Come on, just a little closer. Come on, kitty." Her eyes shone with anticipation, and she closed the last few inches between them.

The moment her hand made contact with the cat's head, it flinched away with a hiss, fur standing on end and its body shaking, just like every other cat she had tried to get close to since elementary school.

Mikoto stared for a moment, before dropping her head."Ah… so you're just like all the others then." Her voice was hollow, her bangs hiding her eyes and her hand still outstretched towards the quivering creature. "Why… why can't you just accept me? Why does everyone end up running away?" Her face twisted in a snarl and she lunged towards the startled cat, clutching it tightly before it had a chance to escape.

"Why?! Why does everyone always run away from me?! Konomi-chan, Shiro-chan. Now even Kuroko? Is there something wrong with me or something? What do I have to do to keep you from running away?!"

She was panting now, hands trembling as the creature struggled. She could feel its heart beating quickly against its ribcage, could feel the way its chest expanded with every terrified breath it took. It sunk its teeth into her hand, drawing blood and making her wince.

"I get it." A pulse of electricity passed into the cat and it mewled pathetically as its tiny body spasmed. "I just have to be stronger, right?" Another pulse and the cats eyes bulged as its muscles twitched uncontrollably. "I… I failed Kuroko, the other day. That's why she won't talk to me. If I had gotten there sooner, then she wouldn't have been hurt like that."

The memory of Kuroko's battered body tore at her mind. _It was my fault_. Her eyes were wide, staring at the struggling creature in her hands. It fought as best it could against her grip, but it was no match for her. _Kuroko got hurt because I was too slow. _She flexed her fingers, crushing the cat's ribcage against its tiny lungs and it wheezed pathetically. She stared at it, eyes distant and unfocused as the tiny creature fought against her grip. Lightning sprang from her palms, singing flesh and scorching fur. "N-next time…"

Her grip tightened, and she felt something inside the tiny body break. "Next time, I won't be late. I'll make sure none of my friends ever have to get hurt again." Electricity crackled along her hands. She was breathing heavily, her whole body shaking. The cat was twitching uncontrollably now, the current racing through its body constantly. "I'll show them they can rely on me, no matter what… but there are so many people like that guy in this city."

The cat's body began to smoke and sizzle. The heat beneath her hands was incredible, but Mikoto's grip only tightened, more tiny ribs breaking under her fingers. Her lips curled into a smile as the last of the life left the cat and smoke curled from its corpse. She sat there, breathing heavily for several moments, before she let the carcass slip from her fingers. She turned her head to stare up at the sky, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"I guess… I'll just have to find them first."

* * *

A/N: Well I really didn't intend to write more than just the first chapter of this, but damned if people didn't seem to love it. That's interesting, as I fully expected someone to find it rather distasteful. It is that, certainly, but it's also fun. I'm not above some distasteful fun, so the story will continue.

Hop on board.


	3. Mother

The disturbance was first noted at 13:12:06. It was small, barely noticeable, but she had been close enough at the time to feel it. It increased in intensity before peaking at exactly 13:15:47. Though well beneath the threshold predetermined as requiring investigation, and several orders of magnitude beneath the point at which physical intervention was deemed necessary, Misaka 10032 still felt the need to look into it.

The Network was not in agreement on this. She was, in fact, in the minority percentage, as only 31.69% of the other Misakas had agreed with her assessment. As it happened though, it was not within the Networks ability to prevent her from pursuing her investigation, and the 85% majority required to request administrative intervention had not been reached. Thus, 10032 had been free to continue, though 68.31% of the remaining Misakas felt the need to make it clear they did not support this course of action.

This suited 10032 just fine. So long as her movements were not in danger of being restricted, she felt no need to make any apologies. If it turned out her concerns were unfounded, she would make sure to express her regret for going against the majority.

The sun had just begun to dip over the horizon when she began her slow, careful trek to the park where she had felt the disturbance. The air cooled dramatically without the warm glow of the sun, but summer nights were warm, and the weather was the last thing of 10032's mind. The focus and caution beaten into her by over ten-thousand gruesome deaths took over, and she watched her surroundings with keen eyes. She did her best to remain inconspicuous and appear as nothing more than an average middle-schooler, albeit with military grade electro-sensory equipment strapped to her head.

As she walked, 10032 tried to puzzle through what it was that she had felt earlier that day. A slow, steady release of electrical energy, potent but certainly not exceptionally powerful. But there was no mistaking the source, even at that magnitude. It was Onee-sama. Under normal circumstances, 10032 would have thought nothing of it. Onee-sama was the Original, and it was imperative that her life remain as undisturbed as possible. That had been the Network's decision in the wake of the failed level six shift experiment; Onee-sama would be allowed to live her life in the fashion she chose, without having to worry about them.

It was for this reason that 68.31% of the units making up the Network had been against this investigation. To investigate any occurrence involving Onee-sama was to potentially involve themselves in her life against her will, and that ran in direct opposition to their current directive, self-imposed though it may have been.

But she couldn't sit idly by, not now. It was a normal enough occurrence for her to sense Onee-sama using her ability; that in itself was nothing so unusual. But there had been something off about it this time, something she couldn't quite put put her finger on. Perhaps she was being overly cautious. The majority of the Network certainly seemed to believe this to be the case. However, 10032 had spent more time in the company of the Original than any other living Sister, and she believed she knew her rather well.

And judging by what she had felt earlier, something was wrong.

No one offered her more than a passing glance as she made her way through the evening streets, her feet guiding her to the location she had sensed the disturbance coming from earlier. Even without seeing it, she knew the location; it was the park where she had first met Onee-sama. The Network's first interaction with Onee-sama had taken place weeks before that meeting, but for her, meeting Onee-sama in person was a much different experience. Even if it hadn't been an especially pleasant one, she cherished the memory. It was Onee-sama who had first told her to cherish being her own person. She was doing her best to honor that.

A breeze rustled the canopy of leaves above the walkway, and she hesitated, looking around. That unfamiliar feeling, the same one she had felt earlier, prickled against the back of her neck. She could almost feel something… but then it was gone, vanished into the evening air. If it weren't for the fact the rest of Network registered and confirmed her sensory input, she might have thought she imagined it. Fortunately, the Misaka units had regular checkups to determine both mental and physical health. It had only been three days since her last checkup, and she had been deemed stable. It was unlikely her mental state had deteriorated enough in that time for her to begin hallucinating, and even less likely that such a drastic change would have gone unnoticed by the Network.

Not for the first time, she wondered how other people managed to survive without a collective consciousness to monitor their health and share experiences. Surely they understood how inferior a single mind was? So far her experiences had shown her that people tended to place a lot of importance on the concept of "individuality". The Network was still skeptical about the professed virtues of such an isolated state of being, but given Onee-sama's insistence and her own eagerness, most Misaka units were currently engaged in experimenting with varying levels of individual consciousness.

None of them had seen any benefit to cutting off their connection with the Network though.

The pathway opened up, and 10032 dismissed the errant thoughts. That line of thought was irrelevant to the current situation. She would pursue it later. For now, she needed to try and identify the nature of the disturbance she felt earlier, and attempt to understand just what it was that had unsettled her so.

A quick glance around the courtyard confirmed she was alone. It had been several hours since she had first felt it, so she really hadn't anticipated finding Onee-sama here. The fact that there were no civilians meant she would be able to investigate freely. With a hum, her goggles turned on, and she settled them over her eyes, scanning the area. Lamps illuminated the darkening paths, but she didn't need them to find what she was looking for.

She took cautious steps, the instincts honed from thousands of encounters with Academy City's alpha predator taking over as she ventured into an unknown situation. Danger was not predicted during this investigation, but steps had been taken to ensure her safety in the unlikely event of an encounter with a hostile threat. The comforting weight of the bag she carried was enough to reassure her that she was as prepared as she could be should the need to defend herself arise.

A brief sweep of the area confirmed her initial suspicions. They were faint, but using an esper ability almost always left a trace, and she was able to detect the faint imprint left by Onee-sama's power. It was the same as always, and 10032 frowned, feeling uncertain for the first time since she had set off on this venture. There was nothing abnormal about the lingering traces of Onee-sama's ability, nothing at all that would explain the unusual sensation she had felt earlier.

A sense of unease began to grow in her chest. It was an unwelcome feeling, one she still associated with the days of the level six shift. Had she really been mistaken? It was not impossible. The majority of the Network had been against this excursion from the start. It was conceivable they had reached a different conclusion about the disturbance than she had. Onee-sama had indeed been here, but that was all she could say for certain.

She would have to be more diligent in the future. Her feet carried her further into the courtyard and she powered down her goggles, shifting them back to their resting place perched atop her head. She blinked as her eyes readjusted to seeing the world in light and color. The lamps illuminated the courtyard fully, and without her goggles she noticed something she hadn't before.

Sprawled near one of the benches was a small, furry body. 10032 frowned, taking a few tentative steps towards the body. Even from this distance she could tell something was wrong, and as she got closer her eyes widened in recognition.

"Dog…"

Her pace quickened, closing the distance between her and the cat she privately thought of as hers.

She knelt next to it, reaching out a shaking hand toward the prone form of the cat. He wasn't moving. His eyes were open, but they were empty and dull.

He wasn't breathing.

She didn't want to believe it. At any moment, he would leap up and stare at her with his adorable little eyes and scratch his nose like he always did. She didn't even care if he shied away from her like he used to, put off by the faint electrical field she emitted. But he didn't, and when her hand brushed shaggy, singed fur, she knew for certain.

Dog was dead.

There was a flurry of activity in the back of her mind, the Network reacting to this strange and unpleasant news. 10032 felt herself disconnect from her body, cradling the lifeless lump of flesh and fur in her hands as the rest of the Network struggled to formulate an explanation.

_Fur is burned is several areas. Indicative of extreme heat exposure, possibly electrical in nature._

_Detect numerous broken bones, potential internal bleeding cause of death._

_Rigor mortis. Time of death coincides with earlier detected anomaly. Unlikely to be coincidence._

_Misaka 19090 does not support suggestion of Onee-sama's involvement in Dog's death, referring the Network to numerous occasions in which she displayed affection for Dog._

_Irrelevant to current diagnosis, dismiss._

_Traces of blood around ears and mouth, further evidence of internal bleeding, likely punctured lungs._

_Misaka 13577 proposes that while evidence indicates an electromaster is responsible for Dog's death, Onee-sama is only one of many electromasters that reside within this region of Academy City. _

_Misaka 10039 expresses agreement. Similarities to Onee-sama's AIM field may be due to similar power nature rather than indicating her involvement._

_Record will note. Please hold all further speculation until diagnosis is complete._

The activity of the Network buzzed in the back of her mind, but Misaka 10032 ignored it, her eyes trained on the lifeless cat she clutched in her trembling hands. Her breathing was becoming erratic, and something warm and wet slid down her cheek as an unfamiliar feeling welled up in her chest.

Emotions had not been programmed into the Network by Testament. They had been told on more than one occasion that there was no need for them to feel human emotions; they weren't human, after all. Their purpose did not require them to feel, only to act and carry out their orders. What good was a puppet that could feel, especially one meant only for death?

But despite the best efforts of the scientists in charge of the level six shift, emotions had begun to emerge in the Misaka Network. At first, they were simply written off as anomalies, but as time went on and more of the clones began exhibiting the same behavior, they had been forced to acknowledge that the Network was adapting, learning to experience emotions in response to specific stimuli. As the Network understood it, there had been a plan in place to put a stop to these emerging emotions, but the plug had been pulled on the whole project before the plan could be implemented.

The first emotion the Network ever registered feeling was fear. After thousands of deaths at the hands of Accelerator, one among them had feared for her life in the instant before he had crushed her spine. From then on, every so often, one of the sisters would try to flee in panic when their death approached, and would die paralyzed with fear.

Then they had learned gratitude. It was thanks to Onee-sama that they had learned that feeling, and with the conclusion of the level six shift, they were learning more all the time. Irritation, affection, jealousy. All these feeling were new and confusing to the Network, but it was adapting all the same.

As she knelt there on the ground, the broken body of the first creature she had ever truly cared about cradled in her arms, Misaka 10032 experienced another new emotion for the first time, and wept.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: This is short, isn't it? You know I honestly did like that cat.

More to come soon. Think of this as an interlude. I just really felt like pounding home the fact that Mikoto killed a cat.

Toodles


End file.
